Factors Controlling Job Satisfaction/ Dissatisfaction among Generation Y Workers in the Bulgarian Media Industry: A Qualitative Analysis of Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Abstract

The objective of this master’s thesis is to investigate the factors controlling job satisfaction/dissatisfaction among the emerging generation of employees born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s. This generation is defined as Generation Y (abbreviated to Gen Y or Gen-Yers). The crucial reason for analyzing Gen-Yers’ drivers for job satisfaction/dissatisfaction is their increasing impact in the workforce resulting from the retirement of Baby Boomers and shrinking older generations. A better understanding of the motivational factors of Gen Y workers would be beneficial for the Media Management Scholarship because it may aid media managers in developing work environments that are more likely to engage and retain Gen-Yers’ talents by incorporating factors controlling their individual motivation. To address this cohort in an original way, the study utilizes Herzberg et al.’s (1959) Two-Factor Theory of motivators and hygiene factors. This theory is well-known in the field of job satisfaction and has been used among various populations, including industry sales people, postal workers, principals and teachers, hospitality workers, and more, but, to date, has not been utilized to determine the motivators of Gen-Yers employed in the media industry in Bulgaria. Within the literature review, the study consists of an examination of Herzberg’s Theory conceptual and methodological problems and on its staying power. This is then coupled with a chapter on the generational dissimilarities within organizations, Generation Y’s characteristics, and on managerial practices to bolster Gen-Yers into valued organizational members. The overall method implemented to gather data was a standardized open-ended email interview based on Herzberg’s Classification Scheme of motivators and hygiene factors. The adoption of a qualitative approach allowed for Gen-Y’s voice to be heard. The purposive sample (N=7) was undertaken in different media organizations in Sofia, Bulgaria. Finally, the concluding chapter introduces implications, caveats, and ideas for future research. It is the ambition of the entire document to inform and aid managers and Human Resource professionals in the development of managerial practices that incorporate factors of individual worker motivation. Understanding what motivates workers at the individual level results in better job performance, as well as in the relative success of the businesses.